Max does not currently have career aspirations he’s yet shared with me. I’m pretty sure he’d like to work at Carsland, but given that he is only ten years old and his obsession with all things Lightning McQueen might end before adulthood, I can’t be sure.
I have so much optimism for Max, but I also have realism and so I believe his career choices might be limited by the disabilities he has from the cerebral palsy. Still, I am constantly awed by the accomplishments of others who also have CP. Last week, there were two: a 16-year-old with athetoid cerebral palsy, Natasha Lambert, who crossed the English Channel solo, steering her yacht with a mouth device. Then I read about Steph Hammerman, a 23-year-old who recently became the world’s first CrossFit trainer with cerebral palsy.
As Steph tells it, during college she put on weight and began working with a trainer. Eventually, she got into hand-cycling, racing competitively. Bitten by the fitness bug and seeking to grain strength, she looked into CrossFit and fell in love. Recently, she became the world’s first certified CrossFit trainer with cerebral palsy. As she said, “There’s no reason in this world that people have to say they can’t do something. If somebody really wants to do something, they’re gonna find a way to make it work.”
As much as I love hearing that, as much of a cheerleader as I am for Max, I am not convinced he will be able to do anything in this world. A surgeon? I’d say no, given his fine-motor challenges. A glass blower? Ditto. True, technology is ever-evolving and who knows, maybe when Max gets older there will be robots and machines that perform all kinds of surgery and create glass by pressing buttons. Right now, I feel confident that there will be a growing number of resources as he gets older, optimism that he will find his place, and inspired by others out there with special needs who are blazing trails for him and other kids.
From my other blog:
Totally awkward parent moments
Top 20 reasons moms of kids with special needs rock
When your child is finally able to entertain himself
Image: Screenshot/kltv video